... Your Homestead Tax Exemption Increased:
 

At Tuesday night's regular Council meeting, the Homestead Exemption was increased from 7% to 8%, which means the taxes residential homeowners pay have been lowered. As I cautioned last year and before, the only way we can pay for the decrease in taxes is to turn around and increase the overall tax rate, or to cut expenses. It's not pretty — the Council each time in the past chose to raise the overall tax rate. I have voted against each tax rate increase, except once when I acquiesced and still regret it.
 
Inflation, unfunded state and federal mandates, increased services and other necessary functions of government dictate that taxes must increase as costs increase. That doesn't mean that the tax rate has to increase. If we conduct the business of government well, grow the value of the city, taxes collections will rise without ever increasing the tax rate. A family would continue to pay the same (adjusted for appreciation) and more investors (new businesses and homeowners) would be contributing. Hopefully, the value will increase faster than government needs and the tax rate can be decreased. Honestly, it's happened — even here.
 
Garland will be especially challenged during the budgeting process this year because our ad valorem tax collections (property
taxes) are currently expected to be very close to what they were last year. That leaves no room for all the increased expenses (salary increases, fuel increases, etc.). Of course, it's not just Garland but most other cities, such as Dallas. Things are bad enough this year that we might see an earnest effort to trim extensively, including services. I'll be fighting a tax increase but this time I think more of the Council will also, joined by the entire city staff.
 

... You Have a New DART Board Representive:
 
The Council had two applications for the open DART Board seat that Angie Chen Button has held for six years as Garland's representative. Both applicants were outstanding and either would serve Garland extremely well. Council held one interview Monday and the second on Tuesday. The two together very closely met the ideal candidate that I described earlier.
 
Tracey Whitaker was appointed by the Council to the two-year term. Mr Whitaker brings a breadth of professional business experience with him, including 20-plus years at Xerox and more recently at FedEx Kinko's. Among the skills Mr Whitaker listed were: strategic planning, customer retention, and conflict resolution. Some of the boards on which Tracey has served are: Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Dallas Citizens Council, SMU-Cox School of Business, Dallas Symphony, and United Way.
 
As I said, both candidates were outstanding. Two factors that tipped the scale for Mr Whitaker for me were his strong interview and his extensive connections to business and civic communities in Dallas. When you're working with an 800-pound gorilla (Dallas has the majority representation on the DART Board), it will be extremely helpful to have contacts within the community.
 
By the way, Tracey and his family are also District 1 residents.
 

... You Have a New Mayor Pro Tem:
 
At Tuesday's meeting, I nominated Council member Rick Williams as the new Mayor Pro Tem. I think the Council and the public have enjoyed Rick's representation on the Council. He's independent and you can count on him to say exactly what he is thinking, yet he is very sensitive to the fact that he represents the citizens of District 7 and Garland. Rick was elected without opposition.
 
For the first time in several years, the Council chose not to name a Deputy Mayor Pro Tem. I assume much of the reason is that Rick and Mayor Ron Jones are both retired. There should be little that the two of them can't cover. If that should happen, the district representative is always available for anything in his/her district. Also, the Charter provides that if both are absent, the Council can elect a temporary Mayor to handle the meeting or situation. Although I doubt it crossed anyone's mind, not excessively stratifying the Council helps protect the harmony (only the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem are created by the Charter, even though the Council can create any offices it feels necessary).
 
I have been proud to serve as the Mayor Pro Tem for the past year. Although I did not seek the position when I was elected last year, I did very much enjoy holding the office. I found the upgraded title to often be a benefit when representing Garland. It has been an honor.
 
UPDATE: ... And You Have Two Other Reappointments:
 
Former Mayor Jamie Ratliff was reappointed to the Texas Municipal Power Agency for two years and Mark Enoch, who represents Garland, Rowlett, and Farmers Branch, was reappointed to the DART Board for two years.